SCPS wins thriller in volleyball

Photo by Dennis Knight, Savannah Morning News Savannah Christian's Ellison Wissmach delivers a serve against Holy Innocents' Saturday. The Raiders won the match to earn a spot in the GHSA Class A volleyball semifinals.

On the brink of elimination, the Savannah Christian volleyball team found a way to deliver when it matter most Saturday — rallying to defeat visiting Holy Innocents’ in a five-set thriller in a Georgia High School Association Class A quarterfinal.

Trailing 10-7 in the deciding set, the Raiders played like their season depended upon it. Chandler Ewaldsen smacked a kill from the back row, Anna DeLoach scored a point with a key tip and Cameron Dean knocked one down at the net as the Raiders tied it at 10.

With the set knotted at 12-12, the Raiders had Ewaldsen, their top server, at the line. The junior served an ace, then Sydney Harper tipped one across the net to set up match point. Ewaldsen fired another ace to close out the match as the Raider team went wild.

It was a back-and-forth match as the Raiders prevailed 25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 26-24, 15-12.

In the fourth set, the Raiders seemed to be in control with a 18-11 lead, but the Bears came storming back with a 10-3 run and eventually took a 24-23 lead. Facing match point, the Raiders got a break when the Bears served into the net. Ewaldsen then scored an ace to take the lead, before finishing it off with a kill from the back row.

“We came together at the end of the fourth set,” said Ewaldsen, who had 14 kills, 20 digs and three aces in the match. “I told the girls ‘We’re not giving up,’ and we came together to finish it out — it was awesome.”

Savannah Christian will travel to Cummings to face Landmark Christian in a Class A semifinal Wednesday at Pinecrest Academy. If the Raiders win, they would play for the championship Saturday at Marietta High School.

Holy Innocents’ (18-17) gave the Raiders problems at the net behind middle blockers Julia Wright and Lexii Cassell. Outside hitter Haley Collins also had a big match for the Bears.

“They had a stronger presence in the middle than we were expecting,” Savannah Christian coach Julie Jones said. “And No. 6 (Collins) was really something. They were a tough team, but we never really got our offense clicking. We weren’t in synch and didn’t play like we were capable of offensively. But the girls came through when we needed it. I still can’t believe it. Chandler got a hold of a few in that last set, and when she came up to serve at the end, I didn’t think twice.”

DeLoach had another impressive performance at setter with 38 assists and five kills. Nicole Brennan had nine kills, two aces and three blocks. Ellison Wissmach had eight kills, two blocks and two aces. Harper had nine kills, 17 digs and three aces. Dean, a freshman, battled at middle blocker with five kills and three blocks. The defense was paced by junior Ashley Davis (11 digs) and libero Jennsen Price (13 digs).

“We tried to keep cool, but in that fifth set we were just trying to get some momentum with a spike from anyone,” DeLoach said. “We wanted it so bad, and we got to the Final Four.”

Harper, a junior outside hitter, said the match was nerve-racking.

“I think I had two heart attacks out there,” Harper said with a laugh. “They were very tall in the middle and had a large block. But we had a great mindset — everybody wanted it equally. We came together as a team and fought for it.”